“The Atomic City Girls is a fascinating and compelling novel about a little-known piece of WWII history.”—Maggie Leffler, international bestselling author of The Secrets of Flight
In the bestselling tradition of Hidden Figures and The Wives of Los Alamos, comes this riveting novel of the everyday people who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.
In November 1944, eighteen-year-old … the Manhattan Project during World War II.
In November 1944, eighteen-year-old June Walker boards an unmarked bus, destined for a city that doesn’t officially exist. Oak Ridge, Tennessee has sprung up in a matter of months—a town of trailers and segregated houses, 24-hour cafeterias, and constant security checks. There, June joins hundreds of other young girls operating massive machines whose purpose is never explained. They know they are helping to win the war, but must ask no questions and reveal nothing to outsiders.
The girls spend their evenings socializing and flirting with soldiers, scientists, and workmen at dances and movies, bowling alleys and canteens. June longs to know more about their top-secret assignment and begins an affair with Sam Cantor, the young Jewish physicist from New York who oversees the lab where she works and understands the end goal only too well, while her beautiful roommate Cici is on her own mission: to find a wealthy husband and escape her sharecropper roots. Across town, African-American construction worker Joe Brewer knows nothing of the government’s plans, only that his new job pays enough to make it worth leaving his family behind, at least for now. But a breach in security will intertwine his fate with June’s search for answers.
When the bombing of Hiroshima brings the truth about Oak Ridge into devastating focus, June must confront her ideals about loyalty, patriotism, and war itself.
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I looked up the history.very interesting
This book is very good, but this is the best narration I’ve ever heard for an audiobook!! Xe did amazing in her transition from male to female to narrator!
This is a great historical fictional tale leading up to the bombings in Japan that ended WWII.
What a wonderful book! Highly recommend!
The characters were well thought out and likable (for the most part, haha) and the story must have been VERY WELL researched-the descriptions of Oak Ridge make you feel like you’re walking through the streets. The addition of the photos was the perfect touch-they are amazing! I’m so glad I got a paperback copy instead of the kindle edition, because the pics wouldn’t have worked out on my paperwhite.
It took a little longer than usually for me to read (but I did read another book while I was reading this). I don’t often read more than one at a time, because I also have chapter books I read with my kids & audiobooks on the car-don’t want to get too confused, but it wasn’t a problem to get right back into this story each time I picked it up.
I was disappointed with the book and the apparent research, Other than reading articles the only noted interview was with her grandmother. It was clearly listed as a novel but I expected more historical insight. i would rate it a 3 out of 5.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
The government begin acquiring the land on which Oak Ridge, Tennessee was built in the 1940’s. The story is told by several different types of people who lived and worked there. These people, black and white, were helping to build the atomic bomb. Almost all of the folks employed at Oak Ridge had no idea what they were actually working on, and security was very tight. There are quite a few old photos of the site included. June is a local girl working her first job monitoring and turning dials all day. Joe is an African American man living in a shack away from his family and working on a construction crew to send money home. Joe’s friend Ralph is fighting for racial justice and better working and living conditions. Sam is a scientist and former professor who is figuring out how to make the plant work. And June’s roommate Cici is methodically looking for a rich husband while hiding her roots as a sharecropper’s daughter
June Walker is a young farm girl growing up in Blount County, Tennessee when WWII breaks out in Europe. Sam Cantor is a Jewish college professor in California. Joe Brewer is a African American field worker in Alabama. Cici is a a girl from Atlanta, Georgia with one goal in mind, find a rich husband and forget the poor sharecroppers family she grew up in. There lives will all be intertwined by the Manhattan Project and Dry Ridge in Tennessee. June and Cici become roommates at Dry Ridge. Their job is to turn dials and make sure they stay within a recommended range. They have no idea what they are doing but the job pays well and is easy enough and they work ten hour rotating shifts. Sam is the person overseeing Y-12 where the girls work and ensures that the machines are doing exactly what they are intended to do. Joe Brewer is part of the construction crew that works on building the factories and homes where all these workers are to live. Everything at Dry Ridge is top secret. No one is to talk about what they do, question why they are doing it and cannot share any information as to what the facility is like where they work and live. In a place such as Dry Ridge you can trust no one.
This book is well written and gives you a feel for what it was like living at Dry Ridge while the war was happening. Wonderful characters and settings helps you to understand how terribly difficult it must have been during that time.
I enjoyed this book very much. Since I have done much studying of WWII, this book took me into different areas of the war I knew about but never had a true appreciation for the deep secrecy that surrounded the Manhattan Project. I would definitely recommend this book.
Historical fiction is my favorite genre and I thoroughly enjoyed The Atomic City Girls. This book is a fictional account of true events. Janet Beard provided a glimpse into the then unknown city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Oak Ridge was a city built by the government to work on building the atomic bomb. June is an eighteen year old woman who decides to leave home to work in the top secret city. While there, she meets and falls in love with Sam Cantor, a physicist working on the bomb. I was instantly pulled into the story and sympathized with June’s character. This was a quick read for me and I enjoyed the old pictures of Oak Ridge and the government workers.